Seven Reasons Why We (Still) Love Television

Four years ago, famed investment advisor Henry Blodgett wrote an article comparing the current state of the television to that of newspapers 10 years prior. He wrote that "changing user behavior" will inevitably "hammer the [television] business". Soon after, Alex Williams of The New York Times wrote that televisions are beginning to “look at best like a luxury, if not an irrelevance.” Derek Thompson’s piece in The Atlantic was titled simply “the End of TV.”

Almost four years later, the television market is booming. Why? Because while television’s programming, content packaging and delivery were all changing dramatically, televisions were too! Television hardware and software adapted and evolved to fit changing lifestyles. So while critics like to say that television is dead, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

New Ultra HD and 4K screens enabled by glass made from Corning are doubling and quadrupling screen resolutions.

Here are seven reasons why we love television more than ever:

A great investment. One of the largest recurring American household investments – up there with heat and electricity – is connectivity. A “triple-play” package can be anywhere from $100 to $300 per month. With Americans shelling out that much money every month for connectivity, they are also looking for ways to maximize that investment. Connected televisions are the means by which individuals and families can fully exploit and take advantage of content offered by Internet and content service providers. According to the NPD group, by 2017 there will be 204 million connected television devices in the U.S., a growth rate of 100%.

Seeing is believing. Long gone are the days of “fuzzy” resolution and cathode ray tubes. New Ultra HD and 4K screens enabled by glass made from Corning are doubling and quadrupling screen resolutions. A new technology called quantum dots transforms light wavelengths to give a wider and more vivid color palate. And because the technology is so widely available, costs aren’t exorbitant. In short, today you can get four times the resolution for one-third the price.

Size matters. You no longer have to go out to a bar or restaurant to get access to the big screen. You can get that experience now in your home. The demand for larger and larger screens is growing worldwide. In 2014, sales of televisions that were 50 inches and larger were up 52%. Sales of televisions that were 70 inches and larger were up 90%.

More bang for the buck. Ever wonder why you see higher quality TV sets in more places? Not only are televisions getting better and bigger, but people are getting more television for the dollar. Six years ago, the average 65-inch television cost over $5,000. Today the average price for the same size television (with newer technology!) is around $2,000. In general, you can replace today what you bought six years ago for one-half to one-third the price.

Thin is in. It used to be that televisions required a lot of room. Televisions meant custom cabinetry, a dedicated shelf for a TV, and a clunky installation unit. Not today. New advances in key materials like Corning Iris™ Glass, are reducing the thickness of an LCD TV from 3 inches to one-half inch thick, about the width of a smartphone.

The designer television. Because televisions are bigger, brighter and lighter, they increasingly are becoming design elements both through the home as well as throughout office and public spaces. Today's televisions can be hung like a picture or mirror but with the added benefit of connectivity and interaction. While televisions were once an eyesore in a beautiful room, they now enhance a room, brighten up the space and make it more functional.

Because we still like friends and family. Yes, there is the rise of the “ear bud” society. But according to Steve Rubel, senior vice president of Edelman, “simultaneous media consumption across four screens and, notably, social networking and apps have reignited the communal experience around TV.” Friends and families still cluster around the communal experience of shared content. And that can only happen through television. Viewership for the NFL Super Bowl, Oscars, and Grammys continue to set new records, primarily because they form a communal experience that goes beyond watching content on a smartphone or tablet.

Every month, many of the world’s biggest and most well-known media companies are announcing new digital content services for both the home and the office. Those services have one thing in common: the television. Why? Because they know what you now know: that television has never been more relevant than it is today.